Laser engraving gives products an individual design and a personal touch. These are typical applications of laser engraving: a sports trophy with the name of the winner engraved on it, a pen with an engraved company logo and an element marked with a serial number and batch designation. With a laser, you can engrave practically any design on a wide variety of materials.
How does laser engraving work?
In laser engraving, the material locally is heated very much by the laser beam. Depending on the exposure time, the color is changed in a contrast-generating manner (marking), or the material evaporates or burns. The resulting laser engraving is permanent and very resistant to abrasion.
Laser engraving – as easy as printing
Laser engraving works as easy as printing. In the beginning, you have to create the layout of the engraving in your usual graphics program (CorelDraw, Photoshop, AutoCAD, Illustrator, Inkscape, etc.). Then send the graphic to the laser using a printer driver. At the push of a button, the material you have selected is laser-engraved or laser-cut with the settings made. Of course, if you require advanced settings you can use the supplied laser software. Process types stored in the printer driver make daily work easier by automatically optimizing required actions. The CNC machine due to the laser controller processes the control signal to the movement of the head.
Raster and Vector Engraving: Two Different Types of Laser Engraving
Raster engraving is the standard process in laser engraving. The graph built from pixels is engraved line by line, point by point. In vector engraving, on the other hand, the graphic consists of curves and lines that are traced by the laser one after the other “vector after vector” and then engraved. Vector engraving is also often referred to as “scribing”. For large-scale applications such as filled fonts, pictures, stamps or wood engraving raster engraving is the most suitable method. However, if only thin lines are engraved, vector engraving is an advantage and can be faster.
Typical applications for laser engraving
- Stamps,
- Paper finishing,
- Promotional items,
- Signs,
- Trophies and awards
- Arts and Crafts,
- Gifts,
- and much more…
Advantages of laser engraving compared to mechanical engraving
- Wider field of application. A
laser beam is a universal tool for many materials such as wood, MDF, acrylic, textiles, cardboard, paper, foils, metals, and many more. - Non-destructive material processing. In mechanical engraving, the material often has to be tightened or fixed with a vacuum. This takes time and can damage the material. This is not necessary with laser processing. Here, the processing is contactless, so that no chips are produced and comparatively very little dust. All this saves time and money.
- No tool wear and tear. Due to non-contact material processing in the laser, there are no tool costs for milling cutters and drills.
- Highest precision and finest details. The laser technology makes it possible to realize the finest motifs with the highest precision. Virtually everything that can be drawn, can be laser engraved and marked.
- Economical production. The production of individual pieces or small series but also large series are inexpensive and economically feasible.
Five common mistakes in laser engraving and how to avoid them
The first mistake
If you want to prevent materials from burning during laser engraving or cutting, you should, first of all, find out what power and engraving speed is suitable for the particular material. Robust materials such as denim, canvas,
The second mistake
Cast acrylic is ideal for engraving, as it creates a frosted glass effect, as it is desired for awards and signs. In addition, this material can be cut with a laser without any signs of burns on the edges.
The second type of acrylic used in laser engraving is called extruded acrylic and is machined into sheets. Extruded acrylic is generally cheaper than cast acrylic because it is produced in high volumes. However, it behaves differently when used with the laser engraver than cast acrylic. Extruded acrylic gets clean, smooth and flame-polished edges when cut. Instead of the typical frost glass effect, the engraving creates clear and transparent surfaces.
The third mistake
When working on glass, the laser often penetrates only slightly into the surface and does not remove enough material for a complete engraving with sufficient depth. This creates a matte finish, but depending on the type of glass used, the surface can be rough and chipped. The matte frosted glass effect is desirable – but a rough, chipping surface should be avoided.
The fourth mistake
Wood is one of the materials that can best be processed with a laser. It is not only easy to cut, but also very suitable for engraving. However, different types of wood lead to different results during laser engraving. Light wood, such as cherry or maple wood, creates beautiful contrasts when the laser burns through the surface of the wood. Cutting or engraving woods of higher density requires higher laser power.
The fifth mistake
Clean the device. Like other design devices, a laser device needs to be cleaned and maintained on a regular basis for good results. For maintenance information, refer to the user manual of the laser. In the event of a sudden drop in performance, you should first check and clean the optics to correct the problem.
Source:Optlasersgrav.com